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Old 24-07-2003, 12:02 AM
BT
 
Posts: n/a
Default Squirrels in my oak tree

And where in hell did I "flip out" in my earlier request for your source?! The
words "please provide your source" doesn't exactly sound like someone who is
"flipping out". But after all your blathering on and on, I note you still have
not identified any specific source behind your original assertion that squirrels
don't eat buds unless they are in starvation conditions.

Anyone can rant on ad nauseum quite easily. But since you have offered no source
then I will continue to stand by my original understanding that grey squirrels
do eat buds whenever they are available. It has nothing to do with how starved
they are...it is just part of a varied diet.

Now? Yup, now I'm flipping out! Oh, you can reply to this if you like, but I
won't be reading it so you might want to save yourself some time and not bother.
I've decided never to waste my time reading your incessant dribble ever
again...but I'm sure the rest of this group will love to read what you have to
say.

Oh mi'gosh, I've even top posted!!!!!

PLONK!

BT





"paghat" wrote in message
news
In article , "BT"
wrote:

"paghat" wrote in message
news ...snip...
squirrels are horders like grey, douglas, & red squirrels. Most
people live near greys only, & the large squirrels will not harvest buds
unless their horded food resources ran out in late winter & there is no
choice of food BUT buds so early in the new year. As you found out, if
better food resources are provided to them in late winter/early spring,
red, douglas, or greys don't want buds.

...snip...
-paghat



paghat, could you please indicate your source for the above information

you have
shared with us. Or perhaps explain why grey squirrels that live in a

park next
to houses with birdfeeding stations filled with sunflower seeds and

cracked corn
still find the need to eat tree buds every year?


I have an EXTENSIVE personal library of books about all manner of rodents,
but the majority of what I've noted could be found even in the most
generic field gkuide such as National Audobon Guide to N.A. Mammals which,
for instance, does not mention buds as one of the grey squirrel's food
items because it is not their standard food item. That doesn't mean they
never eat them & I was clear on that, but squirrels' nutrient needs would
not be met by a diet of buds so it's a back-up food for emergency
conditions -- but as I said, squirrels have such rich personalities &
individuality that even unusual behaviors may occur in some populations.


Here is a reference that indicates the squirrels always eat buds..."When the
buds of elm, oak, and white and sugar maples are swelling, the squirrel may

be
seen perched precariously far in the treetops feeding on them and the

flowers or
catkins. Grasping a stem in its hands, the gray squirrel clips it with sharp
teeth, then, revolving the cluster, eats the buds one by one. For three

or four
weeks each year it lives largely on this delicate fare." , taken from


http://www.kellydickey.com/blackpowd...quirrel/graysq
uirrel.htm


"MAY EAT" is definitely NOT the same as your paraphrase "ALWAYS EAT," &
you certainly never caught me saying NEVER eat, in fact I adhered to the
facts of it, MAY eat. If what they ALWAYS eat, such as acorns or
beechnuts, are horded in sufficient quantities,they don't have to rely on
foods better suited for ruminants in winter. But I've in no way implied
they won't eat some opening buds -- I say (correctly) it is something they
eat only when their caches are empty & they have no other options. The
PRIMARY foods (for grey squirrels) acorn, hickery, walnut, beechnut,
peacan, maple & tulip tree seeds, & if cultivation fields are accessible,
the germ-end of corn kernels. One could add to that french fries &
picnickers' potato chips & gardeners' flower buds, sure, but not for
squirrels whose primary diet choices are adequate.

And here is another reference..."The Gray Squirrel is omnivorous, eating

buds,
leaves, fruits, seeds (mostly from deciduous trees), insects, and bird eggs
(Cowan and Guiguet 1973; Banfield 1974). Their preference for these food

items
changes with availability and phenological stage of the vegetation; swelling
buds are fed upon during early spring, flowers and samaras in late spring. A
variety of fruits (especially nuts) are eaten during summer and fall for

forming
a thick layer of fat (Banfield 1974; Woods 1980). This squirrel also

stockpiles
a winter supply of food in underground storage piles called middens. ",

taken
from http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/risc/pubs/te...iscml20-07.htm


You certainly didn't see me saying anything different from that, so I
don't know quite why you're flipping out. But if you ever decide to become
bookish rather than googlish you'll get a more complete picture, but even
as an instant-googler you'll make better observations if you can only stop
misreading your scant paragraph of knowledge as "ALWAYS" where no such
errors appear.

It should be noted again that the Douglas or Red squirrel has a different
set of preferences. Grey & Red squirrel ranges by states overlap a great
deal, but they live in different forests. While the Grey would eat
PRIMARILY nuts & seeds of oak, beech, hickery, & maple, the red squirrel
would be in an old-growth forest & eat primarily pine nuts. But with
squirrels there are few absolutes, & studies of squirrel caches show they
both will harvest the others' preferred diets, plus some populations have
peculiar individualistic likes & dislikes.

Meaning that speaking in generalities is just that, & I've been clear with
each of my posts that these are general principles, not the absolutes &
alwayses you strangely wish to misread them as.


BT


--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/